If anyone on this run took a Yellow Voile Snow shovel with a telescopic handle from the bed of a 03 Black Tacoma, I would appreciate its return. Thanks. Brent Gehrmann 970 376 2501. email bvgehrmann@hotmail.com

For those that went, thanks for the fun time and the usual support for each other, as we winched and made forward progress.

For those that missed it, If you needed practice using your winch,well..... it was a winchfest:thumb:. But still a good time, My appologies for Farnham and I bailing. It took us three hours to get back to Vail from the cemetary parking lot. See you all soon.

Brent Gehrmann:)

JadeRunner

01-05-2008, 08:01 PM

If anyone on this run took a Yellow Voile Snow shovel with a telescopic handle from the bed of a 03 Black Tacoma, I would appreciate its return. Thanks. Brent Gehrmann 970 376 2501. email bvgehrmann@hotmail.com

For those that went, thanks for the fun time and the usual support for each other, as we winched and made forward progress.

For those that missed it, If you needed practice using your winch,well..... it was a winchfest:thumb:. But still a good time, My appologies for Farnham and I bailing. It took us three hours to get back to Vail from the cemetary parking lot. See you all soon.

Brent Gehrmann:)

Someone has your shovel, I forget who. It was a good call of yours getting out of there behind the snowcat. We had a lot more work ahead of us.

corsair23

01-05-2008, 08:08 PM

Brent,

I have your shovel :thumb: - sorry it got stranded at the front lines but it was put to good use :) - We'll figure how to get it back to you, maybe via Farnham

Uncle Ben...my buddy that road shotgun with me today found something you might be interested in. I'll post up a pic of it later :hill:

For the rest of you...pictures will come. I've got an hour + of putting away to do first though :D

leiniesred

01-05-2008, 08:43 PM

good times. I made it home just fine. I'll get after those airlines and the compressor relay. That ought to keep the 90 weight outta faces.

I think a lot of drivers learned some cool stuff about winching, winch points, wheel speed to match conditions, Chains vs. plain tires...
We saw it all. Chains on front, chains on back, chains on all 4, no chains.
The best was SNOWCAT tracks!

That thing was so cool. I want one!
Peace.

Rezarf

01-05-2008, 09:00 PM

Come on! How bout a pic or two :D

PatrolMan

01-05-2008, 09:07 PM

Yep... Lets stop the "teaser" and have some pics! Let the snow fly!

rover67

01-05-2008, 09:13 PM

Mead and I had a great ride in Steve's rig.. it was a blast. thanks for the good time!

JadeRunner

01-05-2008, 09:17 PM

Well, we went up the traditional route and made it to the ridge road by about 3:30. We had 11 rigs. All had winches but 2, and 2 people had winch failures. Being without a winch was risky business in the difficult sections. Most of us smaller rigs on 33's failed to head Kevin's advice and chained up, including myself. Chains hindered progress for the most part. I let Red Chili lead with Jeff Z. in his Lexus behind him since they didn't use chains.

We soon all started to get stuck and start the winching process. It was ugly, the snow conditions were terrible. We had a group of ATV's try to get around us. Normally we let ATV's around and pass by. But, based on the first guy, it was obvious they were struggling as much as we were and they couldn't drive around us out of the main tracks. I tried and tried to ask them to move out of the way, that they wouldn't be able to get by us and that the other half of our group was ahead and in even a worse section, but they didn't want to listen. I was persistent and a bit aggressive in the end till they finally got out of the way and turned around. I hated to do it, but it was the reality. One guy was already bashing through woods trying to get around us and we didn't want to see any more of that.

Chili did exceptionally well all day tip toeing on the top as much as he could with his tires aired way down. Jeff Z. also did pretty well except for the last tough section. He successfully got though that section then went back into to help RockRunner out and broke through the crust. This was about 3 hours and a mile in. At this point most of us were stuck. Jeff Z. was stuck good with his heavy Lexus. Jeff's winch was broke and Chili couldn't seem to winch him out. The small Aspen's were not large enough to winch with.

I sent Steve Rudy and Kimmel (on 42's) back out to the cemetery to go around the alternative route and back to us to help Chili get Jeff out. A "local" with a snowcat showed up offering to help. He couldn't get around us and had to go back out toward the cemetery. Farnham and Brent made a quick and smart decision to follow him out, since they would have to get back to Vail with the pending storm. Jacket wisely followed, but had a least 3 winch sections to get though. I guess the snow cat ended up pulling them all out of there in one line.

We all finally made it out and up to the ridge road. We continued up the main road and got just below middle parking lot. Chili couldn't make it up the steep hill or the easy road. Neither could anyone else. That was the end of the road. Only snowmobile tracks continued. We get to Beau Jo's pizza at 5pm as planned, enjoyed cool drinks and pizza to top off a hard day.

I'm thinking future Snow and Pizza Run's for all members to enjoy should be in late Nov. or early Dec. when the snow is fresh. Before these crusty deep snow conditions develop. Similar to the way it used to be several years ago during the drought years.

Uncle Ben

01-05-2008, 09:37 PM

Uncle Ben...my buddy that road shotgun with me today found something you might be interested in. I'll post up a pic of it later :hill:

:D

:thumb::thumb: I'm hoping it's..........

http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Images/18024/18024-lg.jpg

JadeRunner

01-05-2008, 09:59 PM

Here are my pictures. It may not look like it but all the pictures taken of individuals are of them when they were stuck. Even Kimmel on 42's was stuck in his own holes without being high centered.

JadeRunner

01-05-2008, 10:00 PM

The last picture was near our final turn around spot.

PatrolMan

01-05-2008, 10:05 PM

Who has the purple 4Runner with the black soft top? I dig it!

RockRunner

01-05-2008, 10:29 PM

Sharon and I had a great time today. Sharon got to drive a little bit and loved it, she is ready for more. I found out at the end of the trip why my tires did not bulge when I dropped the pressure. Seems that my fancy tire gauge I bought several years ago was off by 7 #'s. I started with what I thought was 8 #'s of pressure and dropped to 6, still no bulge like Red Chili. Once I started to air up I used my digital unit to measure the air and found out my real pressure was actually 13 #'s. That explains Moab and other trips not to mention my lack of flotation today. Live and learn.

Just an FYI, for those of you who want to buy a winch but don't want to blow a ton of cash or a short of $$$. My winch that I bought at Costco did great, I either pulled myself out or Jeff in his Lexus 470. Granted the winch did not like Jeff's big ol beast but it did the job and came back for more.

I agree with Scott, next year we may want to adjust the date. Make that this year ;-) We still had fun but it would have been better if we could have gotten around a little more. Maybe the first week of December depending on the snow conditions. After that I think we start running into Christmas parties.

Thanks again Scott for heading this up!!

RockRunner

01-05-2008, 10:30 PM

Who has the purple 4Runner with the black soft top? I dig it!

That rig belongs to Steven, leineisred on the board, his avatar is his truck.

corsair23

01-05-2008, 11:35 PM

good times. I made it home just fine. I'll get after those airlines and the compressor relay. That ought to keep the 90 weight outta faces.

Yeah, that stuff stinks :eek: - That's one way to get my nose out of your engine bay though :lmao:

corsair23

01-05-2008, 11:38 PM

:thumb::thumb: I'm hoping it's..........

Close, but it looks more like this in real life :hill: - I'll have to get it over to Matt or Wes as I won't be at the Feb meeting :(

You guys must have been winching from the same trees though 'cuz that's where my buddy found it, just sitting there. I couldn't believe it when he asked what it was. Unfortunately that is where my winch decided to become Damien :rolleyes:

Red Chili leading the way...Amazing to watch him just float over the snow. What was it you said at the end of the day Bill? "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"? :hill:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/2.jpg

Red Chili stuck...ok, not really but gives you an idea of the snow depth compared to Chili's 35s
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/3.jpg

My first "stuck" of the morning...So many more to come :o - This one was pretty benign
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/4.jpg

My second "stuck". This one was bad...real bad...My axles were buried, my sliders sitting on snow, and I could turn my rear tires by hand in neutral :D - This pretty much insured the entire section would be turned into a quagmire from then on. I had followed Chili through this section about 5-10 mins earlier with absolutely no issues, and even got him unstuck at the Y just down the road. Tom, RockRunner, was behind me and got stuck trying to help out one of the ATVs Yoder mentions. I went back to pull Tom out. That worked well until my ass end slid to the right (toward the fence) off the harder packed snow and down I went. We actually spent the majority of the day digging, pulling, and winching rigs through this 1/4 mile section :eek: - It was like quicksand. Chili came back and "packed" the route down about 10+ times and I STILL sank time after time. This is also where my winch decided to become Damien and I quickly became a 3 ton liability :(
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/6.jpg

This became a familiar site...LOTS of digging...Always bring a good co-pilot along who is willing to help you out :thumb:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/5.jpg

And so the winch fest begins - Thanks to Tom and Bill for the numerous tugs, pulls, and help. I'll have to see if my buddy got video of one of the "tugs" Bill gave me. We are pretty sure Red Chili's front tires came off the ground :cool:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/7.jpg

Trying to pull the "whale" the opposite direction...
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/8.jpg

Once we finally managed to get myself through this section, it was the other's turn :D - Just as Red Chili and I got to the end of this section and parked at the "Y", the cavalry, Steve Rudy and Kimmel, showed up coming from the opposite direction. They were immediately put to work to help Tom and the others thru :D - In the end even Steve and Kimmel managed to get stuck :thumb: - First Steve got stuck up against the fence (his truck seemed to have an affection for barbed wire :rolleyes:) trying to pull Tom forward and then Kimmel got stuck trying to pull Steve out :hill:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/12.jpg

The weather went from blowing cold, to some sun/blue skies, to snow, to heavy snow, to overcast.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/13.jpg

As it got colder, the tracks that were packed down got slicker...Here Steve Rudy is getting strapped up to keep him, or his truck, out of the barbed wire again :rolleyes:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/17.jpg

Did someone say it was slick out here? Or are you just laying down on the job? My co-pilot and snow digger extraordinaire :thumb:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/15.jpg

During the winch fest, I had Mead the Great Dane sniff a snatch block and sent her out in search of Uncle Ben's lost ARB snatch block. Unfortunately, as I discussed with Rover67 later on, Mead is young and seems to have a short attention span :hill:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/14.jpg

Yoder was up next and you guessed it, he got stuck, a few times as well. Luckily his winch was working great and he was able to winch, roll, sink, and repeat down the trail :)
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/16.jpg

Last up was John in his mini truck. I didn't snap any pics because I had switched to video after figuring out how he planned to attack the problem :D. Unfortunately I didn't get any video of the first section as he came blasting down the trail, snow flying, tires spinning. But, like everyone else he got stuck which gave me a chance to get his next two runs on tape :thumb:

Me standing in "Yoder's hole" at the furthest spot we made it to. Hard to see but the hole was nearly 3' deep :D
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/19.jpg

At the end of the day, it was all about fun in the snow and of course PIZZA!!!!! :clap:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/20.jpg

corsair23

01-06-2008, 12:53 AM

I learned several key points today (aside from picking up a lot of experience on strapping, winching, etc).

First: 4Runners float. 80s/LXs sink :hill:

Second: on a snow run never send me back on a section just completed to pull someone out. I will get stuck :) - On both occassions where I initially got stuck it was after I had already successfully made it through section and then went back to help get someone unstuck. Never send in the whale when the butterfly is much better equipped!

Third: a stuck 80 will easily pull a 4Runner to it vs the opposite - strap that 4Runner to something :hill:

Fourth: If you have a winch make sure you have a quick way to disconnect the power to it just in case it decides to turn into Damien. Not sure exactly what happened to my winch but when I went to pull myself out and hit the switch on the controller to take up the slack, the winch wouldn't turn off :eek:. It was a mad scramble at that point for Sharon to run to the tree saver to try and unhook me before the slack was all in (luckily my buddy had pulled out PLENTY of slack) and for me to pop the hood and disconnect the positive lead to the winch cable. Luckily the cables are attached with wing nuts which allowed for fairly quick removal or things could have gotten really bad, really quick.

Fifth: It is possible to find an ARB snatch block along side the trail :thumb:

Finally: The snow run is a hoot, but well prepared rigs are a must. Winch/strap points, LOW pressure in the tires (I ended up running 10 psi), winches, straps, shovels, etc. are essential. AND, it really helps to have a light weight rig so you can float vs sink :)

I now have an updated sig line after this run :hill:

J Kimmel

01-06-2008, 07:38 AM

lots of fun today, lots of work. I didn't realize how heavy some of those rigs are, I had to anchor to trees to pull anything.

thanks for the pizza and thanks Scott for putting it together, it was lots of fun :)

nice to meet you all!

Jeremy

Uncle Ben

01-06-2008, 07:40 AM

Close, but it looks more like this in real life :hill: - I'll have to get it over to Matt or Wes as I won't be at the Feb meeting :(

You guys must have been winching from the same trees though 'cuz that's where my buddy found it, just sitting there. I couldn't believe it when he asked what it was. Unfortunately that is where my winch decided to become Damien :rolleyes:

.

Don't know if that will work because I don't trust either one of those guys with the finders fee! Guess we better get together for the exchange! :beer2: Thank you sir! :thumb::thumb: :bowdown: :corsair23:

Rezarf

01-06-2008, 08:09 AM

Jeff- What does "damien" mean? Clueless here

Uncle Ben

01-06-2008, 08:14 AM

Jeff- What does "damien" mean? Clueless here

Damien=Luthers (devil) son!

MDH33

01-06-2008, 09:51 AM

:bill:

Did my eyes deceive me, or were the mini trucks and runners outnumbering the 80's? :D

Looked like fun, sorry to have missed it, but the new house is eating up weekends temporarily.

Did my eyes deceive me, or were the mini trucks and runners outnumbering the 80's? :D

Looked like fun, sorry to have missed it, but the new house is eating up weekends temporarily.

Nice observation. Now that you mention it, there was only one Land Cruiser. Many of us were not paying attention and calling Jeff's Lexus an 80. Marco had a 62. Everyone else had Runners, taco's or mini's.

Jacket

01-06-2008, 04:27 PM

Kinda funny, but I only took pictures at the parking lot, and then when Eric and the snow cat showed up.

Not so vain self-portrait...
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h201/mralsto/yankeehill_0108/IMG_0019.jpg

Wheelin in the snow with one of them new-fangled electronic trucks (I unplugged my ABS/TRAC wires so I could really get the RPM's up, and generated about 6 extra dummy lights.) :)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h201/mralsto/yankeehill_0108/IMG_0024.jpg

rover67

01-06-2008, 09:18 PM

yeah, the cruiser was kinda lonley all alone! especially when we had to leave it in the turn off!! maybe next time i'll be able to hang with the big boys.

corsair23

01-06-2008, 11:36 PM

Did my eyes deceive me, or were the mini trucks and runners outnumbering the 80's? :D

Nice observation. Now that you mention it, there was only one Land Cruiser. Many of us were not paying attention and calling Jeff's Lexus an 80. Marco had a 62. Everyone else had Runners, taco's or mini's.

Technically there were three...

Rover left his at the parking lot, Farnham had his 100, and then me in the LX. Farnham and Brent turned around early when they found out that Vail Pass was already closed East bound figuring they better try to get back before they closed it West bound as well. Jacket (and maybe others at the rear) followed them out with the snowcat. Considering how long it was taking to get the whale out I don't blame them for heading back. I felt bad for slowing things up so badly but not much I could do at that point :o

I was wondering if a 40 would "float" better than an 80 just given the weight difference. Maybe next year I'll try the 40 :thumb:

corsair23

01-06-2008, 11:40 PM

Jeff- What does "damien" mean? Clueless here

What UB said :)

The dang winch was possessed. The second we hit the line in or line out control the winch would start winding in the rope and it would NOT shut off until power was completely disconnected. Add to that the fact that after the first use that morning my rope pulled out of the connector on the drum and it was over. I went from being helpful and somewhat self supporting to a liability in short order :(

Time for a rebuild I guess :rolleyes:

corsair23

01-06-2008, 11:43 PM

Don't know if that will work because I don't trust either one of those guys with the finders fee! Guess we better get together for the exchange! :beer2: Thank you sir! :thumb::thumb: :bowdown: :corsair23:

Whatever works for you just let me know :thumb: - I can even hold on to it till the March meeting if you don't have a need for it between then and now.

subzali

01-07-2008, 08:14 AM

Great pics everybody...Yoder I'm also wondering if we might want to consider other locations for the S/P run just in case we keep getting this deep snow like the last two winters...something to think/talk/explore about.

elliott

01-07-2008, 11:13 AM

I had the tan 85 mini truck. Thanks to everyone who helped winch me out. It was great meeting all of you and four wheeling with you. What little four wheeling we did. I will definitely be installing some bumpers and tow hooks

corsair23
Great video, Could you please email those two videos to me at elliottengr@gmail.com. Unless there is a way I can download them off of photobucket.

The snow was deep, the weather was OK, the people and food were GREAT!

Thanks
John

corsair23

01-07-2008, 11:32 AM

corsair23
Great video, Could you please email those two videos to me at elliottengr@gmail.com. Unless there is a way I can download them off of photobucket.

John,

I'll figure out a way to get them to you :thumb: - I just wish I had gotten your first run on video. That was awesome :hill:

JadeRunner

01-07-2008, 12:42 PM

Great pics everybody...Yoder I'm also wondering if we might want to consider other locations for the S/P run just in case we keep getting this deep snow like the last two winters...something to think/talk/explore about.

I'm open to ideas. The lack of shelf roads in Yankee Hill sets it apart from most.

subzali

01-07-2008, 12:52 PM

Yeah I've been thinking about a couple different areas...wanted to check them out this winter still, maybe we can set up some small scouting runs once my truck is back together.

RockRunner

01-07-2008, 10:30 PM

Scott,

Thanks again for putting this together, we both had a blast. You and Jeff did a great job describing the trip, I forwarded to my friend who could not go and he was bummed. I wish I would have taken more pictures but I was either digging, pulling or strapping up a truck. This was a great teaching tool for anybody who had any fears using a winch.

Seems that my 4Runner lost about 3" of height in the rear. I guess all that winching of the rear or front and rear was a little much for my little springs. Besides that I had no damage and found all my tools/straps. So when are we going next????

JadeRunner

01-09-2008, 07:39 AM

Personally I'm done with snow runs till spring (if that). The snow is no fun anymore. Chinamans in the spring is usually good.

RockRunner

01-09-2008, 08:41 AM

Personally I'm done with snow runs till spring (if that). The snow is no fun anymore. Chinamans in the spring is usually good.

Then Chinamans it is, can we do it on a Saturday???? :thumb:

J Kimmel

01-09-2008, 08:42 AM

Personally I'm done with snow runs till spring (if that). The snow is no fun anymore. Chinamans in the spring is usually good.

:lmao::lmao:

me too :)

corsair23

03-17-2008, 12:10 AM

Just got a few pics and a bunch of video from my buddy that went on the Snow and Pizza '08 run with me...Enjoy

What a whale looks like stuck in the snow...:hill:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x192/corsair23/Snow%20and%20Pizza%20Run%202008/PIC_0282.jpg